Members approve changes to LI governance at 2017 AGM

Four motions will improve flexibility and information sharing, and help to attract a wider variety of candidates to the role of LI president. Members of the Landscape Institute have voted in overwhelming support of four motions at this year’s annual general meeting (AGM).

Voters agreed to carry the following motions:

To allow the Institute to pay a president’s stipend (passed with 436 votes to 77)

To allow increased flexibility in the timing of the election and nomination process (passed with 506 votes to 17)

To increase the maximum number of terms of office for trustees and Advisory Council members from two to three (passed with 493 votes to 34)

To change the required minimum number of annual Board meetings from six to four (passed with 454 votes to 70)

The Board posited all four motions in response to discussion with and feedback from members, in order to make LI governance more flexible and transparent, and to help attract a more diverse range of candidates to the role of president. Current estimates are that presidency of the LI requires a time commitment of at least two days per week; the stipend will ensure that any candidate can put themselves forward, even if they are in full-time work and would otherwise stand to lose income.

Motion 3, meanwhile, makes a welcome change to the length of time for which trustees can sit on the Board. Previously capped at two consecutive terms of two years, this timeframe saw a rapid turnover of senior members. Members are confident that increasing the maximum term to six years will help the LI benefit more from its trustees’ experience, and also stagger the departure of Board members to ensure more consistent oversight.

Motion 2 will amend LI governance to make election timing more flexible to account for public holidays and other seasonal factors, while motion 4 aligns the meeting calendar of the Board of Trustees more closely with Council and standing committee meetings.

Nine out of ten members vote using new online system

This was the first year that the LI trialled a new system of online voting, which enabled members to engage even if they could not attend the AGM in person.

Approximately 90% of the votes cast were done so digitally, and many members who voted online expressed their satisfaction with the ease and simplicity of the system. Based on this resounding indicator of success, the LI will continue to use this digital platform in future years, ensuring that all members can have a say in how their Institute is run.